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2024 was a year to feel great about the City of Maple Ridge

City leadership has challenge of keeping the good times rolling
games
The front page of the Maple Ridge News on the eve of the BC Summer Games.

Looking back on the pages of the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News from 2024, a lot of ink was spilled covering two good news stories in the community – the 150th Anniversary of Maple Ridge, and the BC Summer Games.

These two events, months in the making, created powerful community spirit. They fostered pride in Maple Ridge not seen in at least the past decade. The challenge for community leaders is to build on that momentum in 2025.

And they showed the public a different face of Maple Ridge than is sometimes seen in news reports, as city hall estimated the two events welcomed close to 15,000 people between them.

The BC Games were a massive four-day affair from July 17-21, that attracted 3,100 teen athletes, their coaches, and sports officials from all corners of the province.

The benefits to the city included tangibles such as a new beach volleyball courts, upgraded track and field facilities at Maple Ridge secondary, and an estimated $1.5 to $2 million in economic activity. But it also brought a rekindled spirit of community that can't be quantified.

This was Maple Ridge's third time serving as host of the BC Games in the 46-year history of the multi-sport gala, and given the way this community came to play, and considering the success of the event, it won't be the last.

Thousands of residents flocked to Maple Ridge's beautiful downtown park, Memorial Peace Park, on Sept. 14 for the Our Neck of the Woods Festival.

Many people walked away from the free concert with good taste – and it wasn't just the specialty local craft beer Our Neck of the Woods Hazy IPA. Humming the tunes of Aaron Pritchett and the Strumbellas, they felt the good vibes of a street party in their home town that saw kids ziplining down 224th Street, live music on three stages, and all manner of vendors, food trucks and kids entertainment between them.

The event had been preceded by free Rock the Block community parties in three different neighbourhoods, giving the community a teaser of the big event that was to come. Street banners with the colours of the city's new brand promoted the event, and painted a backdrop for the party. 

So what will city hall, the business community, and other leaders in Maple Ridge do for an encore? They have momentum, but there is no BC Games this year, nor a waypost city birthday, but their challenge is to keep the good times rolling in Maple Ridge.



Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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